Lance Corporal Arthur Stapley Moon

See Notes (1)

Arthur was born in Bacchus Marsh, VIC on the 19^th of October 1894 to Arthur Moon and Helen Dunning. Arthur had a brother, Rupert, who is also remembered in the Avenue.

click to enlarge
Courtesy of
National Library of Australia.
Record of war service
of bank and staff 1914-1919
National Bank of Australasia Limited.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn4759636

Arthur was a bank clerk with the National Bank of Australia when he enlisted in the AIF, on the 17^th of August 1915, a few months short of 21 - he had previously served in the Citizen Forces. In January he transferred to the 15^th Reinforcements, 8^th Light Horse Regiment and was soon promoted to Corporal. In April 1916 he embarked aboard the HMAT A43 Barunga, disembarking in Egypt some time in May.

In late May 1916 Arthur transferred to the 4^th Light Horse Regiment, probably reverting to a Trooper - an A was added to his Service Number. As part of the 4^th Light Horse Regiment he participated in the charge of the 4^th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba, in October⁽²⁾.

...first major battle would also become that which made it legendary. On 31 October 1917 an attack was launched to outflank the Turkish bastion of Gaza, against which two previous attacks had failed, by capturing another heavily defended town to the east - Beersheba. A deteriorating tactical situation late on the first day of the operation caused the 4th and its sister regiment, the 12th, to be unleashed on Beersheba at the gallop - an action which has gone down in history as the charge of Beersheba...

Source: AWM

In July 1918 Arthur was wounded in action - gunshot wound to the left leg - and admitted to the 14^th Australian General Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. He is discharged from hospital to 14 days leave in late September before rejoining his unit at Tripoli in November. In March 1919 Arthur was promoted to Lance Corporal before being involved in the restoration of order during the Egyptian Uprising in March 1919. Arthur embarked from Kantara, Egypt in June aboard the Essex, returning to Australia in July and was discharged from the AIF in September.

Arthur enlisted at Albury, NSW, in the Australian Army in 1942 - V373834 - and was discharged in 1944 as a Lieutenant in the 17^th Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps.

Arthur died at Brighton, VIC, on the 19^th of November 1960, aged 66.

He is listed on the Bacchus Marsh & District Roll of Honour.

Notes

1. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in 1919
2. Neil Smith
   Men of Beersheba : a history of the 4th Light Horse Regiment, 1914-1919.
   Melbourne : Mostly Unsung Military History Research and Publications, 1993

Location of Tree Number S166

Tree Position (accuracy ±1 tree) -37.68578884161405, 144.46341841655862

Related Links

• Timeline
• Nominal Roll
• Embarkation Roll
• Service Records
• 4^th Light Horse Regiment
• Unit Diaries
• The Battle of Beersheba
• The charge of the 4^th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba
• Online clip of the charge at Beersheba as recreated for the film Forty Thousand Horsemen
• Egyptian Uprising 1919

Last updated by lee, Sun, 29 Aug 2021 12:11:21